linux-kernel - Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH 1/3] Add mcelog support for xen platform

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Message-ID: <20120425081125.GA19849@gmail.com>
Date:	Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:11:25 +0200
From:	Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>
To:	Andi Kleen <andi@...stfloor.org>
Cc:	Borislav Petkov <bp@...64.org>,
	Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk <konrad.wilk@...cle.com>,
	"Liu, Jinsong" <jinsong.liu@...el.com>, tony.luck@...el.com,
	x86@...nel.org, linux-edac@...r.kernel.org,
	"xen-devel@...ts.xensource.com" <xen-devel@...ts.xensource.com>,
	"linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	"H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
	torvalds@...ux-foundation.org
Subject: Re: [Xen-devel] [PATCH 1/3] Add mcelog support for xen platform

* Andi Kleen <andi@...stfloor.org> wrote:

> Borislav Petkov <bp@...64.org> writes:
> 
> > Because, if you'd hooked into it, just imagine one fine day, when we
> > remove mcelog support, what screaming the xen people will be doing when
> > mcelog doesn't work anymore.
> 
> That's simple. /dev/mcelog is a widely used user space ABI 
> [...]

*COUGH* *SPLUTTER* *LAUGH*.

Thanks for making my day with the self-serving exaggeration of 
the year.

In truth /dev/mcelog is one of the crappiest ABIs Linux has - 
full stop. As a result it's barely used by anyone who can avoid 
it - its main usecase is the utility you wrote for it and some 
enterprise folks who desperately need that data and don't care 
how they get it. The mcelog user-space utility sucks too, 
understandably.

Nevertheless we probably have to keep the ABI around until a 
truly better replacement is out there (the RAS daemon for 
example) and mcelog usage eclipses to obscurity, but by all 
means we want to limit its further spreading /dev/mcelog to 
areas it has not polluted yet ...

Thanks,

	Ingo
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